Tsunagari Through Hanpa

I opened the session with two taijutsu techniques trying to put into life the Ishitobashi 石飛ばし concept I had trained since my last trip in May. (1)
After doing a few variations, sensei applied the same concept to sword techniques. As always I am in awe when he takes whatever is demonstrated and bring it to the next level.
These days, Hatsumi Sensei is insisting on Tsunagari (2), the connection between uke and Tori, and the weapons. This connection is the first step to the Enno Kirinai (3). Once Tsunagari is done, you must keep this connection.

To do so, he said that we must not finish the movements (Hanpa). (4) Hanpa is not new to us; we studied it a few years ago with Chūto Hanpa 中途半端, the half cooked techniques. (5)

Hanpa allows the Tsunagari and we keep the connection with Enno Kirinai. There is no intention; we are “zero” and simply surfing on uke’s movements. Keeping the connection, we can “cut with the leg movement”, Ashi Kiri 足切, and move like a skipping stone. As the sword is a shield and cutting not being the main point, we move the sword with footwork and not with the arms. Sensei said (again) to use no strength Chikara Janai 力じゃない, but only the body movements Karada 体 (body) not Chikara 力 (strength).
To reach this non-action state, he added that mastering Kihon Happō and Sanshin are the prerequisites. He insisted again on the importance of building a strong foundation to our taijutsu. The quality of your taijutsu foundations is the path to understanding what Sensei is doing these days. When you master the basics, they are ingrained, you don’t think about doing a movement. This the “ri” of “Shuhari”. (6)

At the “ri” level, you can now focus on the intention. As Sensei said during class, you have to be Honto 本当 real in your actions, to influence uke’s reactions. (7)
Paradoxically this forces you to alternate the “no intention” with “full intention”. He added that that this is part of human nature “ningensei” 人間性 to feel danger or to expect danger (whether it is real or not). By alternating those two states, you create openings in uke’s atavic reactions and overcome his intentions. This animal reaction is inyō 陰陽, better known as the yin yang.

Strangely, Ashi Kiri 足切 can be written Ashi Kiri 足霧, where “Kiri” means fog. So we can say that bu cutting with the legs, we are also creating a metsubushi like movement that capture uke’s mind and make him react wrong to our non-actions.